Turret device

ABSTRACT

To provide a turret device used for turret-type cleaning machines which allows an improvement in the mounting accuracy of a turret drive shaft, a drive shaft, and a turning center shaft of a turret. A turret device includes: a spindle; a turret mounting the spindle; a spindle drive device; a turret drive device; a turret drive shaft disposed coaxially with a turning center shaft of the turret; a drive shaft coaxially journaled within the turret drive shaft; a first transmission portion transmitting rotation of the turret drive shaft to the turret; a second transmission portion transmitting rotation of the drive shaft to the spindle through a center shaft; and an engaging portion realizing engagement between the center shaft and the spindle when the turret is indexed and releasing the engagement when the turret is turning.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a turret device used for turret-typecleaning machines for deburring or cleaning workpieces with a nozzle ora rotary tool.

2. Related Art

A turret-type cleaning machine (see Japanese Patent Nos. 3065905 and3684117) is one of the machines for cleaning or deburring partssubjected to milling or drilling. This turret-type cleaning machineincludes a high-pressure water jet nozzle or a deburring rotary tool oneach shaft of a turret, and is configured to clean holes or worksurfaces or deburr edges by turning the turret to jet high pressurewater from the nozzle mounted to the turret or rotate various rotarytools depending on the intended use.

This kind of turret-type cleaning machine has a mainly numericallycontrolled, orthogonal axis direction moving device on a frame, and aturret device is disposed on the orthogonal axis direction movingdevice. Also, the turret-type cleaning machine has a cleaning chambersurrounding the turret located at the front of the turret device, toclean and deburr a workplace, as an object to be cleaned, with thenozzle or rotary tool mounted to the turret.

Furthermore, this turret-type cleaning machine includes the cleaningmachine (see Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No.2011-230118), in which a turret turning motor (turret drive device) anda spindle motor (spindle drive device) are disposed outside the cleaningchamber, and a turn drive shaft (turret drive shaft) and a spindle driveshaft (drive shaft) are arranged in parallel to enhance durability andreliability of the machine.

However, the cleaning machine disclosed in the Japanese PublishedUnexamined Patent Application No. 2011-230118 includes the threerotating shafts of the turret drive shaft, the drive shaft, and aturning center shaft of the turret. Therefore, it has been difficult tomount the three rotating shafts with high relative positional accuracy.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of theforegoing, and an object of the present invention is to provide a turretdevice used for turret-type cleaning machines which allows animprovement in the mounting accuracy of a turret drive shaft, a driveshaft, and a turning center shaft of a turret.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an aspect of the presentinvention provides a turret device used for turret-type cleaningmachines for deburring or cleaning workplaces with a nozzle or a rotarytool. The turret device includes: a spindle; a turret; a spindle drivedevice; a turret drive device; a turret drive shaft; a drive shaft; afirst transmission portion; a second transmission portion; and anengaging portion. The spindle mounts the nozzle or the rotary tool. Theturret has a plurality of turret faces mounting the spindle. The spindledrive device has a function of indexing a rotation angle of the spindle.The turret drive device turns and indexes the turret. The turret driveshaft as a hollow shaft is disposed coaxially with a turning centershaft of the turret and journaled in a quill. The turret drive shafttransmits power of the turret drive device. The drive shaft is coaxiallyjournaled within the turret drive shaft. The drive shaft transmitsrotation of the spindle drive device. The first transmission portiontransmits rotation of the turret drive shaft to the turret. The secondtransmission portion has an output shaft. The second transmissionportion transmits rotation of the drive shaft through the output shaftto the spindle specified by the index of the turret. The engagingportion realizes engagement between the output shaft and the spindlewhen the turret is indexed and releases the engagement when the turretis turning.

According to the aspect of the present invention, because the turretdrive shaft, the drive shaft, and the turning center shaft of the turretare coaxially arranged, the assembly dimensional accuracy of componentsis improved and the transmission of power for turning the turret androtating the spindle is optimized.

That is, it is possible to provide the turret device used forturret-type cleaning machines which allows an improvement in themounting accuracy of the turret drive shaft, the drive shaft, and theturning center shaft of the turret.

Furthermore, the turret device includes the second transmission portionand the engaging portion, and thus the rotation of the spindle drivedevice is transmitted through the drive shaft only to the spindlespecified by the index of the turret out of the plurality of spindlesdisposed on the turret. This provides the advantages of allowing the useof only the power to be required and facilitating operation confirmationby specifying a portion to be driven.

Furthermore, preferably, the turret device according to the aspect ofthe present invention further includes a clamping member, a clampingmember moving portion, and a detector. The clamping member clamps theturret. The clamping member moving portion moves the clamping memberbetween two positions, i.e., a clamping position where the turret isclamped and an unclamping position where the turret is released. Thedetector detects whether the clamping member is in a position retractedfrom a turning region of the turret.

With this construction, the turret with the angle indexed, that is, theturret with the rotation angle positioned, is fixed by the clampingmember, thereby preventing the turret from being displaced in acircumferential direction. Furthermore, because it can be detected thatthe clamping member is in a position retracted from the turning regionof the turret, when the clamping member is in a position retracted fromthe turning region of the turret, the turret is turned, therebypreventing interference between the turret and the clamping member.

Moreover, preferably, the turret device according to the aspect of thepresent invention further includes a groove of generally V-shaped crosssection moving in conjunction with the turret, wherein the clampingmember is a plunger that includes a protrusion of generally V-shapedcross section having a shape corresponding to the groove, and theplunger clamps the turret, with the protrusion abutting against andurging the groove in the clamping position.

With this construction, the generally V-shaped cross section of theprotrusion of the plunger abuts against and urges the groove ofgenerally V-shaped cross section moving in conjunction with the turretto cause the component forces of the urging force to act in thedirection perpendicular to the two side surfaces of the groove ofgenerally V-shaped cross section, thereby allowing reliable clamping ofthe turret.

Here, the term “generally V-shaped cross section” refers to thecross-sectional shape in which extension faces on the two sides iserected in the form of the letter V from a crossing portion thereof,regardless of the presence/absence of a bottom of the crossing portionof the V or the shape of the bottom.

Also, in the turret device according to the aspect of the presentinvention, the first transmission portion may include: a drive gearprovided on the turret drive shaft; an idler gear meshing with the drivegear; and an internal gear provided on the turret to mesh with the idlergear, and the groove may be included in the internal gear provided onthe turret.

With this construction, the rotation of the turret drive shaft istransmitted to the turret through the idler gear, thereby allowingreliable transmission of power.

Furthermore, the plunger is inserted into the groove included in theinternal gear that is provided on the turret and to which the rotationfrom the turret drive shaft is directly transmitted, thereby reliablyrestraining the turret from turning.

Further, in the turret device according to the aspect of the presentinvention, the output shaft may be a center shaft journaled coaxiallywith the spindle. The second transmission portion may further include agear mechanism transmitting the rotation of the drive shaft to thecenter shaft. The engaging portion may include: a receiving portion as arecessed groove provided at one end of the center shaft and the spindleand extending linearly; and a locking piece as a protruding portionprovided at the other end of the center shaft and the spindle andengageable with the receiving portion for transmission of rotation. Thelocking piece and the receiving portion may be disengaged by turning theturret in a state where an extending direction of the receiving portionis positioned parallel to a trajectory of the spindle drawn by theturning of the turret, and may be engaged when the turret is indexed.

With this construction, the second transmission portion and the engagingportion can be simply constructed.

In addition, preferably, the turret device according to the aspect ofthe present invention further includes: a rotating manifold disposed onthe turret coaxially with the turning center shaft of the turret; and aflow passage communicating from the rotating manifold to the spindle.

With this construction, the supply of cleaning liquid to the spindlerotatably mounted to the turret faces can be realized by a simpleconstruction.

According to the aspect of the present invention, the present inventionis to provide the turret device used for turret-type cleaning machineswhich allows an improvement in the mounting accuracy of the turret driveshaft, the drive shaft, and the turning center shaft of the turret.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail basedon the following drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a whole cleaning machine incorporating aturret device according to an embodiment of the present invention,wherein FIG. 1A is a front view, and FIG. 1B is a right side view;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the turret device shown inFIG. 1B according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a spindle with a brush mounted;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a turret device with aplunger according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings as necessary.

[General Construction of Cleaning Machine]

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a machine chamber 2 is disposed on a frame1 of a cleaning machine 100 to the rear. The machine chamber 2 isinternally provided with a numerically controlled, orthogonal movingdevice 3 for realizing movement in orthogonal triaxial directions. It isto be noted that, for clarity of the explanation, directions, such asfront, rear, left, right, upward, and downward, are set as shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B. A cleaning chamber 4 is disposed on the frame 1 to thefront, and a turret device 10 is installed on the moving device 3. Thecleaning chamber 4 has a front opening (not shown) and includes ashutter 4 b that can seal the opening. Also, the cleaning chamber 4 isprovided with a rear opening (not shown) that allows the turret device10 to pass between the machine chamber 2 and the cleaning chamber 4. Therear opening is closed to the machine chamber 2 by a cover 4 a such as abellows cover and a telescopic cover. A quill 18 of the turret device 10penetrates the cover 4 a. A turret 27 is stored in the cleaning chamber4, while a turret drive device 12 and a spindle drive device 11 arestored in the machine chamber 2.

A cleaning liquid tank unit 101 is disposed at the rear of the cleaningmachine 100. The cleaning liquid tank unit 101 includes a cleaningliquid tank 5, a high-pressure pump 6, a valve device 8, and a filteringdevice 9. The valve device 8 distributes high-pressure cleaning liquiddischarged from the high-pressure pump 6 and passing through a pipe 7 ato a pipe 7 b for returning the high-pressure cleaning liquid into thecleaning liquid tank 5 or a pipe 7 c for supplying the high-pressurecleaning liquid to the turret 27.

By the high-pressure pump 6, the discharged cleaning liquid is deliveredto the turret device 10 through the pipe 7 a, the valve device 8, andthe pipe 7 c. This cleaning liquid passes through the inside of theturret device 10 to be jetted from a rotatable nozzle 36 provided in theturret device 10. It should be noted that the nozzle 36 is a collectiveterm for nozzles 36A and 36B, etc. (see FIG. 2).

The shutter 4 b is opened and a workpiece W to be debarred or cleaned isput into the cleaning chamber 4. Thereafter, the shutter 4 b is closed.

The cleaning liquid is increased in pressure by the high-pressure pump 6and passes through the pipe 7 and the turret device 10 to be dischargedfrom the nozzle 36. A jet of the cleaning liquid discharged from thenozzle 36 is directed at the workpiece W to remove dirt and burrs on theworkpiece W. The nozzle 36 is precisely moved together with the turretdevice 10 by the moving device 3 to direct the jet onto the area of theworkpiece W where dirt or burrs are stuck. Under the action of dynamicpressure of the jet, the dirt or burrs are removed from the workpiece W.

The cleaning liquid is collected in the cleaning liquid tank 5 togetherwith the dirt or burrs and filtered by the filtering device 9. Thefiltered cleaning liquid is raised in pressure again by thehigh-pressure pump 6 to be used for cleaning.

After the completion of cleaning, the shutter 4 b is opened and theworkpiece W is taken out.

First Embodiment

Referring mainly to FIG. 2, the turret device 10 according to a firstembodiment of the present invention will be described. The turret device10 includes: the quill 18; the spindle drive device 11 serving as aservomotor; the turret drive device 12 serving as a servomotor; a turretdrive shaft 21; the turret 27 having a plurality of turret faces 27 a; afirst transmission portion 25 including a drive gear 25 a, an idler gear25 b, and an internal gear 25 c; a second transmission portion 29including bevel gears 29 a and 29 b and a center shaft 29 c; a spindle35; an engaging portion 31 including a locking piece 312 of the spindle35 and a receiving portion 311 of the center shaft 29 c; a rotatingmanifold 41; and flow passages 52 and 53. It should be noted that: thespindle 35 is a collective term for spindles 35A and 35B, etc.; thelocking piece 312 is a collective term for locking pieces 312A and 312B,etc.; the flow passage 52 is a collective term for flow passages 52A and52B, etc.; and the flow passage 53 is a collective term for flowpassages 53A and 53B, etc.

<Drive Device>

In this embodiment, the quill 18 has a cylindrical shape.

It should be noted that the quill 18 may have any cross-sectional shapeas long as it has a hollow shape (tubular shape) inside which the turretdrive shaft 21 and a drive shaft 22 can be disposed, and the outline ofthe cross section can be freely selected from shapes such as rectangularshape and hexagonal shape. If the quill 18 has a hollow polygonal shape,the turret drive shaft 21 is provided in the vicinity of the center ofgravity of the cross section of the quill 18.

The spindle drive device 11 is disposed at a rear end of the quill 18 insuch a manner that an output shaft thereof is coaxial with the centralaxis of the quill 18. In this embodiment, the spindle drive device 11 isa servomotor and has a spindle rotation angle indexing function, thatis, a rotation angle positioning function.

It should be noted that, a stepping motor with a resolver or an encodermay be used as the spindle drive device 11 in place of the servomotor.

The turret drive device 12 is disposed adjacent to the spindle drivedevice 11. A gear 16 is fixed to an output shaft of the turret drivedevice 12.

It should be noted that a stepping motor with a resolver or an encoderand other motors, or an angle indexing device with a roller gear cammechanism, parallel cam mechanism, or barrel cam mechanism, or arotating cylinder may be used as the turret drive device 12 in place ofthe servomotor. If a rotating cylinder is used, a hydraulic cylinder asan incompressible fluid cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder as acompressible fluid cylinder may be used.

The turret drive shaft 21 is journaled coaxially with the quill 18 bybearings 19 and 20 internally provided at each end of the quill 18. Agear 17 is fitted and fixed to a rear end of the turret drive shaft 21and meshes with the gear 16 to thereby transmit the output of the turretdrive device 12 to the turret drive shaft 21.

It should be noted that a toothed belt transmission mechanism may beused in place of the gear mechanism including the gears 16 and 17.

The drive shaft 22 is journaled coaxially with the turret drive shaft 21by bearings 15 and 23 internally provided at each end of the turretdrive shaft 21. The drive shaft 22 is connected to the spindle drivedevice 11 through a coupling 14.

The turret 27 has the plurality of turret faces 27 a (see also FIG. 1A).The turret 27 is journaled by a bearing 26 internally provided at aturret base 24. The internal gear 25 c is fastened to the rear of theturret 27, for example, by screws. A supporting member 33 is mounted tothe turret faces 27 a. It should be noted that the supporting member 33is a collective term for supporting members 33A and 33B, etc. If thenumber of the nozzles 36 or rotary tools 37 to be used is less than thenumber of the turret faces 27 a, a lid 38 is mounted in place of thesupporting member 33 (see FIG. 4).

It should be noted that the number of the turret faces 27 a can befreely changed. Although the turret faces 27 a are arranged in parallelto the quill 18 and the turret drive shaft 21, the turret faces 27 a maybe provided on a plane (polygonal pyramid surface) inclined toward thefront of the turret 27.

The first transmission portion 25 transmits the rotation of the turretdrive shaft 21 to the turret 27. The drive gear 25 a is provided at afront end of the turret drive shaft 21. A plurality of the idler gears25 b journaled to the turret base 24 mesh with the drive gear 25 a andthe internal gear 25 c fastened to the turret 27 meshes with the idlergears 25 b to transmit the rotation of the turret drive shaft 21 to theturret 27. With the plurality of idler gears 25 b, the forces exerted ongear teeth can be dispersed, so that a torque to be transmitted can beincreased (see FIG. 3). In this embodiment, the drive gear 25 a isintegral with the turret drive shaft 21, but also can be separate fromthe turret drive shaft 21 and fixed thereto. Furthermore, in thisembodiment, the internal gear 25 c is separate from the turret 27 andfixed thereto, but also can be integral with the turret 27.

The plurality of idler gears 25 b are preferably provided, but also canbe changed to a single idler gear. In this embodiment, the number of theidler gears 25 b is three, but also can be freely changed in accordancewith design conditions.

It should be noted that a transmission mechanism which enablestransmission with an input shaft and an output shaft coaxially arranged,such as a cycloidal speed reducer (see Japanese Published UnexaminedPatent Application No. 2010-32038), an eccentric differential gearbox(see Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-531352), or an eccentricoscillation type gear device (see Japanese Published Unexamined PatentApplication No. 2010-91073), may be used as the first transmissionportion 25 in place of the gear mechanism.

The second transmission portion 29 is composed of the bevel gears 29 aand 29 b, and the center shaft 29 c serving as an output shaft. In thisembodiment, the bevel gears 29 a and 29 b constitute a gear mechanism. Aspline 22 a is provided at a front end of the drive shaft 22. Thedriving bevel gear 29 a is splined to the spline 22 a.

The center shaft 29 c is journaled perpendicular to the turret faces 27a and within the turret 27. The driven bevel gear 29 b is fitted to thecenter shaft 29 c. The bevel gear 29 b is secured to the center shaft 29c by a key, serrations, or the like.

With the bevel gear 29 a and the bevel gear 29 b in mesh with eachother, the rotation of the drive shaft 22 is transmitted to the centershaft 29 c.

It should be noted that the spline 22 a may be replaced with serrations,a taper ring, a key and keyway, or other shaft fastening elements.Furthermore, a screw gear mechanism or worm gear mechanism, an Oldham'scoupling, or a universal coupling may be selected as the secondtransmission portion 29 in place of the bevel gear mechanism.

The spindle 35 has cleaning liquid flow passages inside and is journaledin the supporting member 33 disposed on the turret faces 27 a, coaxiallywith the center shaft 29 c.

The engaging portion 31 includes: the receiving portion 311 as aslitting groove provided in the center shaft 29 c; and the locking piece312 having two approximately-parallel surfaces provided on the spindle35. In this embodiment, the receiving portion 311 is a recessed groovewhich is provided at an end of the center shaft 29 c and extendslinearly, and the locking piece 312 is a protruding portion which isprovided at an end of the spindle 35 and engageable with the receivingportion 311 for transmission of rotation.

In this embodiment, the locking piece 312 has a substantially flat plateshape, the surface width thereof being made slightly narrower than thatof the receiving portion 311. When the turret face 27 a is indexed, thelocking piece 312 engages the receiving portion 311 so that the rotationof the center shaft 29 c can be transmitted to the spindle 35.

The spindle drive device 11 is a servomotor having the indexingfunction, and its rotation is transmitted to the center shaft 29 c andthe spindle 35 through the drive shaft 22 and the second transmissionportion 29, thereby allowing the spindle drive device 11 to optionallyindex an angle in a rotational direction of the spindle 35.

The locking piece 312A passes through the receiving portion 311 alongwith turning of the turret 27 when the groove of the receiving portion311 faces a circumferential direction of the turret 27. The spindle 35brought into engagement with the center shaft 29 c until then goes outof it with the turning of the turret 27.

The spindle 35 disengaged from the center shaft 29 c turns around thecircumference of the turret 27. At this time, the locking piece 312slides on a guide 39, and the spindle 35 does not rotate. Therefore, thelocking piece 312 can pass smoothly through the receiving portion 311along with the turning of the turret 27.

It should be noted that as the engaging portion 31, for example, thefollowing clutch mechanism can be selected in place of the combinationof the receiving portion 311 and the locking piece 312. The clutchmechanism includes: a pair of clutches that can be connected to eachother; and an arm that turns on a fulcrum, in which a supporting membersupporting one of the clutches is moved to a retracted position by theoperation of the arm to thereby disconnect the clutch for disengagement,and moved to a connection position to thereby connect the clutch forengagement.

<Cleaning Liquid Flow Passage>

The rotating manifold 41 is disposed on the turret 27 coaxially with aturning center shaft 27 b of the turret 27. A swivel shaft 41 a fixed bya bracket 44 is inserted and fitted in a shaft center of the rotatingmanifold 41. The swivel shaft 41 a is provided with a cleaning liquidinlet. The pipe 7 c communicates with the cleaning liquid inlet. Thecleaning liquid raised in pressure by the high-pressure pump 6 (see FIG.12) passes through the pipe 7 and flows into the rotating manifold 41through the inlet of the swivel shaft 41 a. The rotating manifold 41 isprovided with the same number of (four) outlets as the number of turretindexes (turret faces).

The same number of the cleaning liquid flow passages, such as 52A and52B, as the number of turret faces communicate from the outlets of therotating manifold 41 to the spindle 35 through the supporting memberssuch as 33A and 33B disposed on the turret faces 27 a. The cleaningliquid supplied from the high-pressure pump 6 flows through the rotatingmanifold 41 to all the spindles such as 35A and 35B provided on theturret faces 27 a.

A cylindrical groove 331 is provided inside the supporting member 33,and the flow passage 53 is connected to the cylindrical groove 331. Thespindle 35 is provided with a radial hole at a position in an axialdirection thereof corresponding to the cylindrical groove 331. Thecleaning liquid flow passage 53 communicates from the radial hole of thespindle 35 to a flange surface at the tip of the spindle 35 through anaxial hole in the spindle 35.

It should be noted that the flow passages such as 52 and 53 need notnecessarily be provided within the turret 27.

Preferably, poppet valves 42A and 42B are provided in between the flowpassages 52 and 53 communicating from the rotating manifold 41 to thesupporting member 33. The poppet valve 42 includes a valve element 421,a valve seat 423, and a coil spring 422. It should be noted that thepoppet valve 42 is a collective term for the poppet valves 42A and 42B,etc. In the poppet valve (see 42B) which is not in contact with a camfollower 43, the valve element 421 abuts on the valve seat 423 whilebeing urged toward the valve seat 423 by the coil spring 422 to closethe flow passage.

The cam follower 43 is fixed to the bracket 45 disposed on the swivelshaft 41 a.

When the turret face 27 a is indexed by the turning of the turret 27,the cam follower 43 pushes up the valve element 421 of the poppet valve42 communicating with the spindle 35 connected to the center shaft 29 cagainst the elastic force of the coil spring 422. Then the valve element421 is separated from the valve seat 423, so that the cleaning liquidflows from the flow passage 52A to the flow passage 53A.

The cleaning liquid flow passages 52 and 53 are provided with the camfollower 43 and the poppet valve 42. Thus, the cleaning liquid issupplied only to the spindle 35A which is connected to the center shaft29 c and rotatable, and the supply of the cleaning liquid to the otherspindle 35B can be cut off. Because the cleaning liquid supplied to thespindle 35A is jetted from the nozzle 36A fixed to the spindle 35A,high-pressure water is jetted only from the nozzle 36A connected to thecenter shaft 29 c thorough the spindle 35A, and the jetting ofhigh-pressure water from the other nozzle 36B can be stopped.

<Nozzle>

The spindle 35 is provided with a variety of nozzles 36 so that cleaningliquid can be jetted from the tip of each of the nozzles 36. The nozzle36 or the rotary tool 37 (see FIG. 4) is rotated or positioned togetherwith the spindle 35 and performs the operation programmed by the movingdevice 3 for deburring or cleaning.

The nozzle 36 can be selected from nozzles such as: a direct nozzle thathas a jetting port at a tip of a rotating shaft, the jetting port beingcoaxial with the rotating shaft; an L-type nozzle that has an extensionshaft coaxial with a rotating shaft, and a single jetting port extendingin a direction perpendicular to the rotating shaft from a tip portion ofthe extension shaft; and a lance nozzle that has an extension shaftcoaxial with a rotating shaft, and two jetting ports extending indiametrically opposite directions from tip portions of the extensionshaft. The functions of rotation and positioning in the rotationaldirection of the center shaft 29 c provide advantages capable ofrotating the nozzle 36 or determining the position in the rotationaldirection of the jetting port depending on the nozzle 36 to be used,thereby allowing a wide variety of high pressure washing or deburring.

<Rotary Tool>

Referring to FIG. 4, the case where the rotary tool 37, such as a brush,is used in place of the nozzle 36 will be described.

A supporting member 33C with no cleaning liquid flow passage providedtherein is disposed on the turret face 27 a. A plug 54 is fixed inbetween the flow passages 52 and 53 in place of the poppet valve 42. Theplug 54 interrupts the flow of cleaning liquid into the flow passage 53.

A rotary tool spindle 35C is journaled within the supporting member 33Cby a bearing. The spindle 35C includes a locking piece 312C on an endsurface thereof toward the center shaft 29 c and a collet 40 on theother end and does not include a cleaning liquid flow passage inside.The rotary tool 37 is fixed to the spindle 35C by the collet 40.

A cup brush, a twisted brush, a drill, an end mill or the like may beused as the rotary tool 37. By using the rotary tool 37, strong burrswhich cannot be eliminated by high-pressure water can be removed.

As described above, the turret device 10 according to the firstembodiment includes: the spindle 35 for mounting the nozzle 36 or therotary tool 37; the turret 27 having the plurality of turret faces 27 afor mounting the spindle 35; the spindle drive device 11 having afunction of indexing the rotation angle of the spindle 35; the turretdrive device 12 for turning and indexing the turret 27; the turret driveshaft 21 as a hollow shaft disposed coaxially with the turning centershaft 27 b of the turret 27 for transmitting power of the turret drivedevice 12 and journaled in the quill 18; the drive shaft 22 coaxiallyjournaled within the turret drive shaft 21 for transmitting rotation ofthe spindle drive device 11; the first transmission portion 25 fortransmitting the rotation of the turret drive shaft 21 to the turret 27;the second transmission portion 29 having the center shaft 29 c fortransmitting the rotation of the drive shaft 22 through the center shaft29 c to the spindle 35 specified by the index of the turret 27; and theengaging portion 31 for realizing engagement between the center shaft 29c and the spindle 35 when the turret 27 is indexed, while releasing theengagement when the turret 27 is turning.

The turret device 10 according to the first embodiment is constructed asabove, thereby providing the following advantages.

That is, the quill 18, the turret drive shaft 21, the drive shaft 22,and the turret 27 rotate about the same axis, thereby allowing an easyimprovement in coaxial accuracy after the shafts are assembled.Furthermore, because each component has the shape of a rotating body,machining with high accuracy is facilitated. This results in theadvantage of a reduction in manufacturing costs of the turret device 10.Also, there is provided the advantage of improving the reliability ofturning and angle indexing of the turret 27 and rotation and angleindexing of the spindle 35.

That is, it is possible to provide the turret device 10 used for theturret-type cleaning machine 100 which allows an improvement in themounting accuracy of the turret drive shaft 21, the drive shaft 22, andthe turning center shaft 27 b of the turret 27.

Also, the turret device 10 includes the second transmission portion 29and the engaging portion 31. Thus, the rotation of the spindle drivedevice 11 is transmitted through the drive shaft 22 only to the spindle35 specified by the index of the turret 27 out of the plurality ofspindles 35 arranged on the turret 27. This provides the advantages ofallowing the use of only the power to be required and facilitatingoperation confirmation by specifying a portion to be driven.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the center shaft 29 c is journaledcoaxially with the spindle 35, and the second transmission portion 29further includes the gear mechanism that transmits the rotation of thedrive shaft 22 to the center shaft 29 c. The engaging portion 31includes: the receiving portion 311 as a recessed groove provided at anend of the center shaft 29 c and extending linearly; and the lockingpiece 312 as a protruding portion provided at an end of the spindle 35and engageable with the receiving portion 311 for transmission ofrotation. The locking piece 312 and the receiving portion 311 aredisengaged by turning the turret 27 in a state where the extendingdirection of the receiving portion 311 is positioned parallel to atrajectory of the spindle 35 drawn by the turning of the turret 27, andare engaged when the turret 27 is indexed.

With this construction, it is possible to simply construct the secondtransmission portion 29 and the engaging portion 31.

Furthermore, the turret device 10 according to the first embodimentincludes: the rotating manifold 41 disposed on the turret 27 coaxiallywith the turning center shaft 27 b of the turret 27; and the flowpassages 52 and 53 communicating from the rotating manifold 41 to thespindle 35.

With this construction, the supply of cleaning liquid to the spindle 35rotatably mounted to the turret faces 27 a can be realized with a simpleconstruction.

Second Embodiment

Next, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a second embodiment of the presentinvention will be described in terms of differences between theabove-described first embodiment and this embodiment, and the repetitionof the description of similarities therebetween is omitted asappropriate.

Referring mainly to FIG. 5, the second embodiment of the presentinvention is shown, in which the turret device 10 having the four turretfaces 27 a according to the first embodiment is further provided with aplunger 63 serving as a clamping member, a pneumatic cylinder 61 servingas a clamping member moving portion, and a detector 65 serving as apneumatic seating switch in this embodiment, and further includes aV-groove 64 as a groove of generally V-shaped cross section on an outercircumferential surface of the internal gear 25 c.

<Clamping Member>

The plunger 63 is provided on a vertical plane passing the turningcenter shaft 27 b of the turret 27 and vertically moved by the cylinder61. The plunger 63 has, at a tip thereof, a V-surface 63 a serving as aprotrusion of generally V-shaped cross section having the shapecorresponding to the V-groove 64 (see FIG. 6). Two sides constitutingthe V-surface 63 a are symmetrical with respect to the vertical plane.

The cylinder 61 is disposed on the vertical plane passing the turningcenter shaft 27 b of the turret 27 in the turret base 24. A bushing 61 ais internally provided at a lower end of a cylinder body 61 b. A piston61 e is disposed in a vertically slidable manner within the cylinderbody 61 b. A piston shaft 61 d having a flange surface 61 d 1 is fixedbelow the piston 61 e. A coil spring 61 c as an elastic body, with thepiston shaft 61 d as a guide, is provided below the cylinder body 61 babove the flange surface 61 d 1. The urging force of the coil spring 61c urges the piston shaft 61 d downward. The piston shaft 61 d is formedintegrally with the plunger 63.

It should be noted that a disc spring may be used in place of the coilspring 61 c. Alternatively, the piston shaft 61 d and the plunger 63 maybe constructed separate from each other and fitted and joined together.

A pneumatic pipe 66 is provided for feeding compressed air to an airchamber 67, the air chamber 67 being defined by the cylinder body 61 band the piston 61 e and located below the piston 61 e. The pneumaticpipe 66 is provided with a switching valve (not shown). The switchingvalve switches the introduction and discharge of compressed air into andfrom the air chamber 67.

An end-plate 61 f is disposed at an upper end of the cylinder body 61 b.The end-plate 61 f is provided with a pipe 69 for discharging air froman air chamber 68, the air chamber 68 being defined by the cylinder body61 b, the piston 61 e, and the end-plate 61 f and located above thepiston 61 e.

The bushing 61 a slides with the plunger 63 to prevent inclination ofthe plunger 63. The plunger 63 is held by the presence of the bushing 61a against sliding with the cylinder body 61 b, thereby preventing thewear of the cylinder body 61 b.

On outer circumferential surfaces of the internal gear 25 c, there areprovided the same number of V-grooves 64A 64B, 64C, and 64D,circumferentially equally spaced apart, as the number of indexes of theturret 27. Two sides (side surfaces) constituting the V-groove 64 areprovided in a radially symmetrical manner. It should be noted that theV-groove 64 is a collective term for the V-grooves 64A, 64B, 64C, and64D. The angle between the two sides of the V-groove 64 is the same asthat of the V-surface 63 a at the tip of the plunger 63.

The internal gear 25 c is disposed on the turret 27 such that theV-groove 64 faces upward in the vertical direction when the turret face27 a is indexed, and such that its center shaft is coaxial with theturning center shaft 27 b of the turret 27.

When compressed air in the air chamber 67 is discharged by the switchingvalve (not shown), the piston 61 e is moved downward by the restoringforce of the coil spring 61 c. At the same time, the air chamber 68draws in the air through pipe 69. The plunger 63 disposed at the tip ofthe piston shaft 61 d is inserted into the V-groove 64 provided in theinternal gear 25 c.

At this time, the V-surface 63 a of the plunger 63 abuts against theV-groove 64 of the internal gear 25 c. Further, the plunger 63 is urgedtoward the internal gear 25 c by a restoring force F of the coil spring61 c (see FIG. 6). The V-surface 63 a applies, to the internal gear 25c, two component forces F1 and F2 of the restoring force F in adirection perpendicular to the V-surface 63 a, the component forces F1and F2 being mutually equal in a circumferential direction andoppositely directed. Furthermore, the plunger 63 is maintained in avertical attitude by the bushing 61 a. With these synergistic effects,the plunger 63 clamps the internal gear 25 c in a rotational directionthereof. Because the internal gear 25 c is fixed to the turret 27, theinsertion of the plunger 63 into the V-groove 64 restrains the turret 27from turning.

When compressed air is introduced into the air chamber 67, the piston 61e moves upward under the pressure of the compressed air against theelastic force of the coil spring 61 c. At this time, air is dischargedfrom the air chamber 68 through the pipe 69.

When the piston 61 e moves upward, the plunger 63 disposed at the tip ofthe piston shaft 61 d is removed from the V-groove 64, so that theturret 27 fixed to the internal gear 25 c can turn.

It should be noted that although in this embodiment, the single-actingcylinder with the coil spring is used as the cylinder 61 serving as aclamping member moving portion, it may be changed to a double-actingcylinder. Alternatively, a clamping member having a V-shaped crosssection may be used in place of the plunger 63, and a toggle mechanismand other link mechanisms may be used as a clamping member movingportion.

<Detector>

A nozzle 65 a is provided in the end-plate 61 f. A pipe 70 is connectedto the nozzle 65 a. The pipe 70 is provided with a pressure switch 65 bfor monitoring pressure in the pipe 70 and a regulator 65 c formaintaining the pressure in the pipe 70 constant. The pressure of air tobe introduced into the nozzle 65 a is set sufficiently lower than thepressure in the air chamber 67.

When the piston 61 e moves upward and reaches the end-plate 61 f, theplunger 63 is completely removed from the V-groove 64 and the piston 61e closes the nozzle 65 a. Then the pressure in the pipe 70 increases.And then when the pressure reaches a set pressure of the regulator 65 c,the pressure switch 65 b generates a set pressure reaching signal.Therefore, the detector 65 can confirm that the piston 61 e reaches theupper end.

On the other hand, when the piston 61 e does not reach the end-plate 61f, the piston 61 e does not close the nozzle 65 a, and therefore the airflowing through the pipe 70 is discharged from the pipe 69. In thiscase, because the pressure in the pipe 70 does not increase, thepressure switch 65 b does not generate the set pressure reaching signal.Therefore, the detector 65 can confirm that the piston 61 e does notreach the upper end.

The detector 65 only needs to detect whether the plunger 63 is in aretracted position to allow turning of the turret 27. For example, thearrangement may be such that a dog is provided on the plunger 63 or thepiston 61 e, and a detector for detecting the dog is provided so as todetect that the plunger 63 does not exist in a region where itinterferences with the turret 27 during turning.

As described above, the turret device 10 according to the secondembodiment includes: the plunger 63 for clamping the turret 27; thecylinder 61 for moving the plunger 63 between two positions, i.e., aclamping position where the turret 27 is clamped and an unclampingposition where the turret 27 is released; and the detector 65 fordetecting that the plunger 63 is in a position retracted from a turningregion of the turret 27.

The turret device 10 according to the second embodiment is constructedas above, thereby providing the following advantages.

That is, the turret 27 with an angle indexed, that is, the turret 27with a rotation angle position determined, is fixed by the plunger 63,thereby preventing the turret 27 from being displaced in acircumferential direction.

Here, when the turret 27 turns with the plunger 63 not completelyremoved from the V-groove 64, the plunger 63 interferences with theturret 27, and an excessive torque is transmitted to the turret drivedevice 12. This might cause a serious trouble in the turret drive device12 and drive systems.

However, according to this embodiment, the detector 65 can confirmwhether or not the piston 61 e reaches the upper end and the plunger 63is completely removed from the V-groove 64. Therefore, when the plunger63 is in a position retracted from the turning region of the turret 27,the turret 27 is turned, thereby preventing interference between theturret 27 and the plunger 63 and preventing the turret device 10 frombeing broken.

Furthermore, because no electric components are disposed within thehigh-humidity cleaning chamber 4, breakage of the electric componentsdue to vapor can be prevented. Therefore, the reliability of the devicecan be improved.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the V-groove 64 of generallyV-shaped cross section moving in conjunction with the turret 27 isprovided. The plunger 63 includes the V-surface 63 a serving as aprotrusion of generally V-shaped cross section having the shapecorresponding to the V-groove 64. The plunger 63 clamps the turret 27,with the V-surface 63 a abutting against and urging the V-groove 64 inthe clamping position.

With this construction, the generally V-shaped cross section of theV-surface 63 a of the plunger 63 abuts against and urges the V-groove 64of generally V-shaped cross section moving in conjunction with theturret 27 to cause the component forces of the urging force to act inthe direction perpendicular to the two side surfaces of the V-groove 64,thereby allowing reliable clamping of the turret 27.

Moreover, in the second embodiment, the first transmission portion 25includes: the drive gear 25 a provided on the turret drive shaft 21; theidler gears 25 b meshing with the drive gear 25 a; and the internal gear25 c provided on the turret 27 to mesh with the idler gears 25 b. TheV-groove 64 is included in the internal gear 25 c provided on the turret27.

With this construction, the rotation of the turret drive shaft 21 istransmitted to the turret 27 through the idler gears 25 b, therebyallowing reliable transmission of power.

Furthermore, the plunger 63 is inserted into the V-groove 64 included inthe internal gear 25 c that is provided on the turret 27 and to whichthe rotation from the turret drive shaft 21 is directly transmitted,thereby reliably restraining the turret 27 from turning.

Although in this embodiment, the pneumatic seating switch is used as thedetector 65 for detecting the unclamping position of the plunger 63, itmay be replaced with a proximity switch, a contact switch, a limitswitch, an automatic switch and other position detecting sensors.

As for the rest, this embodiment is of similar construction to the firstembodiment, and the detailed description will not be repeated.

While the above is a description of two embodiments of the presentinvention, the present invention is not limited to the constructions ofthe above-described embodiments and changes can be made as appropriate.

For example, although in the above-described embodiment, the receivingportion 311 is provided at an end of the center shaft 29 c and thelocking piece 312 is provided at an end of the spindle 35, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. The present invention may employ theconstruction in which the receiving portion 311 is provided at an end ofthe spindle 35 and the locking piece 312 is provided at an end of thecenter shaft 29 c. In this case, in order to restrain the spindle 35from rotating, a construction is required in which a flat surfaceallowing the guide 39 to slide thereon is formed at an appropriateportion of a side surface of the spindle 35, or the guide 39 slides inengagement with the receiving portion 311.

Furthermore, although in the above-described embodiment, the lockingpiece 312 has a substantially flat plate shape, the present invention isnot limited thereto. As the locking piece 312, the arrangement may besuch that a plurality of almost columnar pins are erected in a linearlyaligned manner or such that a plurality of flat plates with surfacesarranged substantially flush are erected in a linearly aligned manner.

In addition, although in the above-described embodiment, the V-groove 64is provided in the internal gear 25 c, the present invention is notlimited thereto. The V-groove 64 may be provided at an appropriateportion of the turret 27 other than the internal gear 25 c.

What is claimed is:
 1. A turret device used for turret-type cleaningmachines for deburring or cleaning workpieces with a nozzle or a rotarytool, comprising: a spindle mounting the nozzle or the rotary tool; aturret having a plurality of turret faces, the turret faces mounting thespindle; a spindle drive device having a function of indexing a rotationangle of the spindle; a turret drive device turning and indexing theturret; a turret drive shaft as a hollow shaft disposed coaxially with aturning center shaft of the turret and journaled in a quill, the turretdrive shaft transmitting power of the turret drive device; a drive shaftcoaxially journaled within the turret drive shaft, the drive shafttransmitting rotation of the spindle drive device; a first transmissionportion transmitting rotation of the turret drive shaft to the turret; asecond transmission portion having an output shaft, the secondtransmission portion transmitting rotation of the drive shaft throughthe output shaft to the spindle specified by the index of the turret; anengaging portion realizing engagement between the output shaft and thespindle when the turret is indexed and releasing the engagement when theturret is turning; a clamping member clamping the turret; a clampingmember moving portion moving the clamping member between two positionscomprising a clamping position where the turret is clamped and anunclamping position where the turret is released; a detector detectingwhether the clamping member is in a position retracted from a turningregion of the turret; and a groove of generally V-shaped cross sectionmoving in conjunction with the turret, wherein: the clamping membercomprises a plunger that includes a protrusion of a generally V-shapedcross section having a shape corresponding to the groove, and theplunger clamps the turret, with the protrusion abutting against andurging the groove in the clamping position.
 2. The turret deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the first transmission portion includes: adrive gear provided on the turret drive shaft; an idler gear meshingwith the drive gear; and an internal gear provided on the turret to meshwith the idler gear, and the groove is included in the internal gearprovided on the turret.
 3. The turret device according to claim 1,wherein: the output shaft is a center shaft journaled coaxially with thespindle; the second transmission portion further includes a gearmechanism transmitting the rotation of the drive shaft to the centershaft; the engaging portion includes a receiving portion as a recessedgroove provided at one end of the center shaft and the spindle andextending linearly, and a locking piece as a protruding portion providedat the other end of the center shaft and the spindle and engageable withthe receiving portion for transmission of rotation; and the lockingpiece and the receiving portion are disengaged by turning the turret ina state where an extending direction of the receiving portion ispositioned parallel to a trajectory of the spindle drawn by the turningof the turret, and are engaged when the turret is indexed.
 4. The turretdevice according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotating manifolddisposed on the turret coaxially with the turning center shaft of theturret; and a flow passage communicating from the rotating manifold tothe spindle.
 5. The turret device according to claim 2, wherein: theoutput shaft is a center shaft journaled coaxially with the spindle; thesecond transmission portion further includes a gear mechanismtransmitting the rotation of the drive shaft to the center shaft; theengaging portion includes a receiving portion as a recessed grooveprovided at one end of the center shaft and the spindle and extendinglinearly, and a locking piece as a protruding portion provided at theother end of the center shaft and the spindle and engageable with thereceiving portion for transmission of rotation; and the locking pieceand the receiving portion are disengaged by turning the turret in astate where an extending direction of the receiving portion ispositioned parallel to a trajectory of the spindle drawn by the turningof the turret, and are engaged when the turret is indexed.
 6. The turretdevice according to claim 2, further comprising: a rotating manifolddisposed on the turret coaxially with the turning center shaft of theturret; and a flow passage communicating from the rotating manifold tothe spindle.
 7. The turret device according to claim 3, furthercomprising: a rotating manifold disposed on the turret coaxially withthe turning center shaft of the turret; and a flow passage communicatingfrom the rotating manifold to the spindle.
 8. The turret deviceaccording to claim 5, further comprising: a rotating manifold disposedon the turret coaxially with the turning center shaft of the turret; anda flow passage communicating from the rotating manifold to the spindle.